Disposable center feed ink fountain



June 20, 1967 H. D. SMALLEY 3,326,123

DISPOSABLE CENTER FEED INK FOUNTAIN Filed Nov. 2, 1964 United StatesPatent C 3,326,123 DISPOSABLE CENTER FEED INK FOUNTAIN Harvey D.Smalley, Perham, Minn. 56573 Filed Nov. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 408,181) 1Claim. (Cl. 101365) This invention relates to a disposable inkingmechanism for use with printing presses and the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel inking mechanismincluding an elongate fountain member formed of an inexpensive materialsuch as plastic and being connectible through centrally located quickcoupling means to a supply of ink so that ink is uniformly supplied tothe fountain member which is operable to distribute ink to the printingpress, and which because of its inexpensive construction, the fountainmember may be disposed of at the end of. a printing operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a disposable auxiliaryink fountain device which is adapted to be mountedin close proximity tothe conventional ink reservoir of a printing press for supplying inkthereto so that a relatively small but sufiicient quantity of ink may bemaintained in the reservoir structure during a printing operation, andthereby minimize waste of such ink.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an ink fountainmechanism which is of the disposable type and thereby obviates the needof cleaning the inking structure at the end of a printing operation sothat a substantial saving in time and labor is effected.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein like character references refer to thesame or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic end elevational view of a conventionalrotaryprinting press illustrating the inking mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale takenapproximately along line 22 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction ofthe arrows; and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic end view of a rotary printing press apparatusillustrating the auxiliary fountain member in cooperative relation withthe fountain structure of the printing press.

Referring now to the drawings, and more specifically to FIGS. 1 and 2,it will be seen that one embodiment of my invention is illustrated asthe primary ink distributing means for a conventional rotary printingpress, designated generally by the reference numeral 10, and whichincludes side supports 11. An elongate transversely extending pick-up orroll 12 is revolvably mounted on and extends between the side supports11 for rotation relative thereto. The pick-up roll 12 is in rollingcontact with a ductor roller 13 and a vibrating roller 14 which alsorevolve during the printing operation and which eventually transfer theink to the printing rollers or cylinder (not shown). The operation ofthe print ng press is well known in the art and a detailed descriptionthereof is felt to be unnecessary for the instant application.

In the embodiment of the printing press apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1and 2, the printing press is fed by a novel throw-away type ink fountainmechanism comprised of an elongate tubular fountain member 16 which isformed of a plastic material, preferably transparent, and which hasopposite ends thereof closed. The fountain member 16 is provided with acentrally located inlet opening disposed equi-distant with respect tothe longitudinal dimension of the fountain member 16. An inlet fittingor nipple element 18 also preferably formed of plastic material isintegrally formed with the fountain member 16 and communicates by meansof the inlet opening 17 with the interior of the fountain member 16.This inlet fitting 18 is externally threaded as at 19 for readyconnection to an internally threaded coupling element 20 which iscarried by a conduit section 21, as best seen in FIG. 1.

The conduit section 21 is interconnected in communieating relation by anelbow 22 to an elongate supply conduit 23 which is positioned above andsubstantially parallel to the fountain member 16. The other end of thesupply conduit 23 is supported by a sleeve element 24 which is carriedby an L-shaped bracket 25 secured to the upper portion of one of theside supports 11. Thus it will be seen that the center feed fountainmember 16 is actually suspended from the supply conduit system andmerely requires the disconnection of the single coupling element 20 fromthe inlet'fitting 18 to permit complete removal of the fountain memberfrom the printing press.

A coupling element 26 interconnects the end portion of the supplyconduit 23 to a fitting 27 of an ink receptacle 28 whereby the interiorof the ink receptacle is in communicating relation with the supplyconduit 23. The ink receptacle 28 is vertically oriented in theuppermost portion of this receptacle and is provided with a fitting 29which is engaged by a coupling element 30 carried by one end of aconduit 31. A three-way valve 32 is disposed in flow controllingrelation with respect to the conduit 31 and includes an actuator handlefor actuating the flow of air therethrough. The valve 32 is alsodisposed in flow controlling relation with respect to a relief conduit33 whereby air may be discharged therethrough when it is desirable torelieve certain pressures. An air pressure regulator valve mechanism 34having an indicating gauge 35 is also connected in communicatingrelation with respect to the valve 32 and the regulator valve mechanism34 is connected to a source of air under pressure by means of a conduit36. Thus the air pressure to the ink receptacle is controlled by the airpressure regulator valve mechanism-34 and the valve 32. The inkreceptacle 28 is preferably-of the cartridge type in which the cartridgemay be formed of a plastic material in the manner of the fountain member16. Although the interior structure and functional relationship of thepartsof the ink receptacle 28 is not shown, it is pointed out that afiat transversely extending member is positioned adjacent the top of anink supply so that the transverse member functions in the manner of apiston when the air is introduced through the conduit 31 into thereceptacle. With this arrangement, the ink to be discharged passes fromthe ink receptacle into the supply conduit and thereafter into thefountain member 16 at which point it is distributed uniformly throughoutthe fountain member and then to the ink distributing roller.

The ink is discharged from the fountain member 16 uniformly andsubstantially along the entire length of the pick-up roller 12. To thisend, it will be seen that the fountain member is provided with aplurality of discharge apertures 37 arranged in a row along the lowersurface of the fountain member. Each of these discharge apertures 37 areof tapered construction and define a frustro-conical valve seat 38, asbest seen in FIG. 2.

Valve means are also provided for controlling the flow of ink throughthe discharge apertures 37 and to this end, the fountain member isprovided with a plurality of threaded openings '39 which arelongitudinally spacedapart and which are disposed in longitudinalalignment with respect to each other throughout substantially the entirelength of the fountain member. It is pointed out that each of thethreaded openings 39 is disposed in diametrically opposed relation withrespect to one of the discharge apertures 37 and these apertures 37 arealso disposed above the discharge apertures. A plurality of elongatethreaded valve elements 40 are provided, each threadedly engaging one ofthe threaded apertures 39 and each having a tapered end 41 correspondingin shape to the shape of the tapered valve seat 38. The tapered end ofthe valve elements 40 actually defines a valve surface which may bemoved into obstructing relation with respect to the apertures 37 so thedischarge apertures may be readily closed or so that the opening definedbetween the valve seat and the tapered end 'of the valve elements may bevaried. It will be seen that the valve elements 40 project exteriorlyabove the upper end of the fountain member 16 and each is provided withan enlarged head portion 4-2 to facilitate turning of each valveelement.

It will be seen that the fountain member 16 may be adjusted so that theamount of ink discharged therefrom to the pick-up roller 12 may bevariously adjusted and controlled as to volume of ink to be applied tovarious annular surface areas of the pick-up roller. It will also beseen that the fountain member 16 is connected to the printing press bymeans of a single coupling element which also serves to support orsuspend the fountain member above the pick-up roller. Thus the fountainmember may be very easily and quickly removed at the end of a printingoperation by merely adjusting the single coupling element 20.

It is further pointed out that the center feed arrangement of thefountain member permits the ink regardless of its viscosity to be evenlydistributed throughout the interior of the fountain member so that noneof the portions of the fountain member, especially the end portions,will be underfed.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the fountain mechanism isillustrated as an auxiliary fountain means for the conventional inkingfountain of a rotary press structure. To this end it will be seen thatthe printing press illustrated therein includes an elongatecylindrically shaped fountain roller 12a which is mounted for revolvingmovement and is in rolling contact with the ductor roller 13a which isin turn engaged by the vibrator roller 14a which serves to condition andtransfer the ink to the printing roller or cylinder (not shown). Theprinting press also includes the conventional ink fountain reservoirstructure 15a which is adapted to contain a predetermined amount of inkin normal operation and together with the fountain roller 12aconstitutes the fountain of the printing press.

During the printing operation, lint and other foreign particles from thepaper sometimes work back throu h the various transfer rollers and findtheir Way into the fountain structure 15a so that when a large amount ofink is used therein during a printing operation, the ink becomescontaminated. In order to provide a control means 'for uniformlysupplying ink to the reservoir structure 15a and to permit a minimumvolume of ink to be maintained therein for the printing operation, thefountain member 16 is arranged in close cooperative relation withrespect to the reservoir structure 15a. Thus the inlet fitting 18 isconnected by the fountain member 16 to the coupling element 20a which iscarried by a conduit section 21a secured to an elbow 22a. Thus it willbe seen that the fountain member 16 is suspended by a single couplingelement to deliver ink uniformly to the reservoir structure so that aminimum volume may be evenly and uniformly supplied to the reservoirstructure. Again it is pointed out that the unique center feedarrangement of the disposable fountain member 16 not only permitseffective uniform feeding throughout the interior of the fountain memberbut also permits the fountain member to be supported by a singlecoupling member whereby the fountain member may be quickly detached asfor example at the end of a printing operation.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided anovel center feed ink fountain member which may constitute the solesource of ink for a printing press or which may serve as an auxiliaryfountain member to permit a more efficient operation of the conventionalreservoir structure printing presses.

It will be noted from the preceding paragraphs that my novel fountainmember has a single coupling connection with the printing press whichpermits the fountain member to be readily removed at the end of aprinting operation. The centrally located coupling connection for thefountain member also permits uniform distribution of the ink throughoutthe interior of the tubular fountain member so that uniform inking ofthe distribution roller is accomplished.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a novel ink fountain member ofthe throw-away type which is not only of simple and inexpensiveconstruction but one which functions in a more efiicient manner than anyheretofore known comparable device.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

A printing press having in combination an ink fountain reservoirstructure adapted to contain a supply of ink therein,

a fountain roller receiving ink from said reservoir structure,

an auxiliarly ink distributing mechanism comprising an elongate tubulardisposable ink fountain member formed of substantially rigid plasticmaterial and being detachably mounted on said printing press for readydetachment therefrom,

said ink fountain member being disposed in close proximity to thereservoir structure and being operable to supply ink thereto, said inkfountain having opposite ends thereof closed and having a plurality oflongitudinally aligned apertures therein arranged in a pair oflongitudinally extending rows, the apertures of one row comprisingdischarge openings each defining an outwardly tapered valve seat, theapertures of the other of said rows being threaded and each beingdisposed in diametrically opposed relation with one of said dischargeopenings,

said fountain member having an inlet fitting thereon locatedsubstantially centrally of the longitudinal axis thereof and adapted tobe connected to coupling means on the printing press and forming thesole support for said fountain member,

an ink receptacle having a supply of ink therein and having a quickcoupling connection for connection of the receptacle in fluid conductingrelation with said coupling means on said fountain member to permitready detachment of the latter therefrom, and a plurality of elongatethreaded valve elements each being disposed in threaded engagement withone of said threaded apertures for radial shifting movement relative tosaid fountain member and each of said valve elements having a terminalportion shaped to fit in one of said valve seats in fluid controllingrelation therewith and each of said valve elements being independently'shiftable with respect to its associated valve seat for variouslycontrolling the flow of ink through each of said discharge openingswhereby the amount and distribution of the ink flowing from saidfountain member directly from said reservoir structure may be readilyand variously controlled.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,130,659 9/1938 Wedeneyer101-366 5 2,747,541 5/1956 Chew 1l8259 X 2,898,618 8/ 1959 Whitfield eta1. 118259 X 3,065,886 11/1962 Smalley 101366 X ROBERT E. PULFREY,Primary Examiner.

10 J. R. FISHER, Assistant Examiner.

